


Ice Skates

by earlgreyteawrites



Series: Klancemas [5]
Category: Voltron - Fandom, klance - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, KEITH FIC, M/M, Vld keith - Freeform, keith kogane - Freeform, klance, klance fic, klance fluff, klancemas, klangst, lance fic, lance mcclain - Freeform, lance serrano - Freeform, vld klance - Freeform, vld klance fic, vld lance fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 06:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16908252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreyteawrites/pseuds/earlgreyteawrites
Summary: Alright, Lance told himself, You can do this, it’s not going to be that hard. Keith put all this effort into making this a good date and you’re going to give it to him. Ice skating can’t be that hard, you’re amazing at the roller rink! Yeah! You’re totally going to do a triple axel and impress the heck out of him!





	Ice Skates

_ Alright _ , Lance told himself,  _ You can do this, it’s not going to be that hard. Keith put all this effort into making this a good date and you’re going to give it to him. Ice skating can’t be that hard, you’re amazing at the roller rink! Yeah! You’re totally going to do a triple axel and impress the heck out of him! _

Although, despite his encouraging thoughts, Lance couldn’t help but feel a little wobbly on the pair of ice skates that Keith had rented for him. Keith had already laced up in his own ice skates from hockey, the little flames that Lance had painted ages ago slightly fading from the leather. Obviously he was used to this process, seeing as he was actually ranked the number one high school hockey player in the state. Lance, on the other hand, was no professional and had never gone on ice in his entire life, seeing as he had grown up in Cuba. Heck, the first time he saw snow was a year ago and that didn’t even count, seeing as it was the ice shavings from the players skates at one of Keith’s matches that he’d been watching. So, it was obviously no question as to the state of Lance’s ice skating, which was ranked negative six on a scale of one to ten. He was beginning to have second thoughts on whether this was like rollerblading or not.

Keith gave Lance a soft smile,

“So, you ready yet?” he asked, like he had for the past minute or so just to annoy Lance.

“Sh-shut up, these have more laces.” Lance stuttered. Keith laughed, but it wasn’t in a mocking way, rather a playful one as he stood with no problem. Lance pulled the lances tight on his own feel, tying a neat little bow before standing.

A small sense of achievement filled Lance as he managed to balance himself, however it quickly faded as he began to wobble again. Walking on these things felt like constantly walking on a tightrope! How did people even manage to skate on these things when he could hardly stand?!

Keith let out another soft chuckle,

“Do you, uh, need some help?” he asked. Lance crossed his arms, teetering a bit dangerously from side to side.

“No! Of course not!” he insisted, but Keith continued to grin and giggle as Lance continued to wobble around, probably looking like a total fool. He blushed madly, already embarrassed.

“Alright then.” Keith shrugged, “Seems you have the hang of it, I’ll see you on the ice.” he smirked, already walking off far faster than Lance could manage.

“W-wait!” Lance begged holding his hand out, instantly regretting it. Keith turned around,

“That’s what I thought.” he said, but his smile was tender as he went over.

“No, don’t help me, I can do it.” Lance continued to lie, “I’ve got this.” Keith just rolled his eyes, keeping a hand around him, er, well, sort of, seeing as Lance didn’t let him fully wrap his arm around, not wanting other people to think he couldn’t skate on his own. That and he really wanted to try and impress Keith.

As they entered the ice rink, Lance realized there was virtually no one aside from a couple small families and one other couple.

“I’m gonna do one quick lap.” Keith said, “I just need it out of my system.” he said softly. Lance was honestly thankful for that, seeing as it would give him a few seconds to understand what the ice felt like. Lance nodded, watching as Keith excitedly launched himself into the rink, skating around like a madman.

As for Lance, he wobbled into the rink. The moment his foot touched the ice, he paused. Oh, he was definitely not liking this. But before Lance could grab onto the railing for support or possibly a person, he was falling, both of his legs going in opposite directions.

Lance squeaked as he fell to the ice, his butt aching a little bit from the crash. Thank god Keith was on the other side, unaware of what just happened. Lance scrambled to his feet, slipping and sliding until he managed to grab onto the railing shakily, steadying himself and inching along the side of  the rink. His legs felt like jelly, wobbling every which way at the tiniest movement. Every little shift of his feet made him feel like he was going to fall. At this point Lance had an entirely new respect for his boyfriend.

Keith skated over, already finished with his lap. He seemed perfectly relaxed, stopping smoothly besides Lance.

“Hey.” he grinned, watching as Lance death gripped the side of the rink.

“H-hey.” Lance stuttered, his feet wobbling.

“You, uh, having a little trouble there?” he asked suggestively. Lance opened his mouth, about to reply when his feet suddenly slipped from under him. He tightened his grip on the side as the rest of his body splayed outwards, his skates carving large crevices into the ice.

Keith broke into laughter, attempting to help Lance but was laughing hard enough that he couldn’t quite stand. Lance felt his cheeks flush, but the utter ridiculousness of his position made him break into giggles too, reluctantly accepting help from Keith as they both died of laughter.

Lance somehow managed to stand, Keith wrapping a hand comfortably around his waist ashe wiped tears from his eyes, his chest racking up and down with the remains of his laughter.

“Oh god, I’m so glad I chose this.” he wheezed.

“Haha, very funny.” Lance sighed, still a little breathless from his own laughter.

“Okay, okay I’ll stop.” Keith agreed, still wheezing a little bit, “Let me help you.”

 

When Keith actually managed to calm himself down, he positioned Lance in front of him, carefully holding his waist. The touch of Keith’s fingers excited Lance a little bit, his tenderness making him feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

“Alright, just push out with your feet, sort of like when you’re rollerblading.” he explained, demonstrating it rather gracefully. Lance attempted to copy the action, slipping and nearly falling, but Keith managed to catch him, holding him up carefully.

“Pfft-”

“Don’t you dare.”

“I’m sorry, you’re just so…” Keith giggled a little bit, helping Lance stand once again before assuming his position behind him.

“I’m so what?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow. Keith snorted and snickered, trying his best not to laugh.

“You’re so cute.” he managed. “Sorry, I can’t help it.” he wheezed, hugging Lance around the waist and leaning on him, giggling and snorting into his shoulder. Lance rolled his eyes, but accepted the tenderness of Keith’s hug, actually sort of enjoying listening to him laugh. It was rare to so much as get a smile out of him.

Eventually Lance got the hang of the whole pushing off thing, managing to propel himself forwards on his skates. Keith followed behind him, laughing occasionally, but by this point he’d managed to control himself. Lance allowed Keith to hold onto his waist, skating carefully behind him as they moved onwards.

At first it was fun, especially considering that he’d been hoping to impress Keith and was achieving it to some degree, but eventually things went sour.

As soon as Lance could keep balance without help, Keith had shifted his grip to Lance’s hand. Lance didn’t mind of course, loving the gentle touch of Keith’s gloves brushing his cold fingers. He even took the chance to lean against him a little bit, both of them talking and enjoying the slightly romantic Christmas song in the background. As always, Lance got a little bit caught up in things, kissing Keith’s cheek occasionally and whispering some sweet nothings. But as they went around and around, Lance came back to reality.

The rink might’ve been nearly empty, but it wasn't completely. The families had mostly poured out by now, but the other couple that had been skating around was beginning to give them looks. At first Lance didn’t want to assume anything, especially since he was having a good time. But after he kissed Keith a couple times, he knew that they had a problem with what was going on.

Lance pulled away, his hand slipping from Keith’s. He looked down at his toes. Most people wouldn’t expect Lance to be so quiet when other people made fun of him for being bisexual or criticized him for it. They would expect him to defend it and get riled up, but...Lance was quite the opposite.

Keith noticed this rather quickly, going quiet. The Christmas music lost its romantic tone, suddenly filled with tensity as the sound of skates scraping the ice echoed throughout the area. The couple continued to stare, or rather glare at them, the man looking rather disgusted.

“...Lance.” Keith mumbled, reaching out to touch him, but Lance skated a little bit faster.

“Not now.” he mumbled quickly, just praying that the couple would stay away.

Keith skated behind Lance quietly, the music eventually fading away. Everything felt tense and wrong, exactly the opposite of what it was supposed to feel like on a date. Lance was terrified, his hands shaking and his body as weak as jelly. He began to forget what Keith had taught him on the ice, wobbling around like a rag doll, slipping and sliding all over the place.

But as the couple skated past this time, they decided to initiate some hostility, the woman proudly displaying her finger as she and her boyfriend skated off the ice, moving to leave the rink.

“Fags.” she muttered, but she intentionally said it loud enough to reach their ears. Lance felt his chest tighten. So...they really  _ did  _ have a problem with it.

Distracted by the sudden use of the middle finger and his own anxiousness, Lance’s feet fell from under him and he face planted on the ice. His teeth clacked together painfully, all sorts of awful feelings pulsing through him, and it wasn’t just physical pain.

“Lance!” Keith yelled, rushing over to him hurriedly. Lance didn’t bother to attempt to pull himself up from the ice, lying there for a moment. He felt stupid for being so easily affected by someone else’s disapproval. Heck, he didn’t even know that lady, but it was sort of like bumping into someone and having them scream at you despite the fact that it was an accident. It scared him. He’d heard of people that got arrested for stuff like this, especially in public places. It wasn’t like they were doing anything wrong and Lance knew that, but he couldn’t help but think he did.

“Lance, are you okay?” Keith asked, his voice dripping with worry. He stopped, taking Lance by the arms and helping him up. Lance tried to smile to show Keith he was okay, but his face suddenly felt extremely heavy, everything droopy. The whole ordeal lasted less than a minute, but it felt like he’d been dealing with it for hours.

“Mm.” Lance barely managed, rubbing his cheek which was aching painfully. Keith looked like he wanted to initiate some sort of contact, but he hesitated, looking over Lance’s shoulder. The couple hadn’t left, they were still there, almost as if they wanted more of a reason to taunt them. He knew Lance was bad at handling people’s ridicule and the shame it put on him.

“I’m getting the manager if they don’t get out of here.” Lance heard the man say. He felt pathetic, reaching out to grip Keith’s shirt.

“I wanna go home.” he croaked out.

“...Okay, just…” Keith hesitated, “...Let’s go to the bathroom and see if they’ll leave by then. If they’re on the ice when we come out, we’ll go home-”

“Get off the ice faggots!” the woman suddenly yelled. Lance flinched under her words, his heart beating faster.

“I wanna go home.” he begged, “Now.”

This time Keith made no other suggestion, but he didn’t do what Lance asked either.

Unlike most ice rinks, there was only one way in and one way out, forcing Keith to get closer to the people. But as they walked, Keith didn’t shuffle by them like he expected. Instead he went right up to both of their faces.

Keith gave them a glare so terrifying Lance’s own blood went cold.

“Don’t ever call me or my boyfriend that.” he said, his voice as cold as the icy air around them. “You have no right to.” he seethed. “I didn’t interrupt your date to call you faggots now did I. I’m supposed to be the stupid teenager here but obviously you to need to grow up a lot more than I do!”

“Keith…” Lance struggled to try and stop him, but his legs still felt wobbly.

“If you have a problem with the way I live my life then you don’t have to be here, there’s an exit right there just to your left, so go and let yourselves out if you have a problem.” the man tried to interrupt, but Keith butted right back in, “I’m not leaving, and neither is my boyfriend. This is our date, and I’m not letting you ruin this for us.”

An incredibly tense silence passed between them, Lance beginning to fear that the couple might try to call the police on him, maybe even hurt him.

However, much to Lance’s relief, the couple said nothing, walking over to the exit, looking extremely angry, but neither of them able to say a word. Lance wasn’t sure what to say either, watching as Keith joined him again. He still looked a little bit disgruntled, but appeared to be calming down, breathing a little bit heavy.

“...You okay?” he asked. Lance still had no idea to react. He wanted to thank Keith, but at the same time he kind of wanted to slap him. He’d made a scene, it wasn’t like he made anything worse, but he’d humiliated Lance and refused to take him home. But, on the other end, he defended one of Lance’s greatest insecurities and managed to end the conflict with no sort of injury or even more problems.

Lance stayed quiet, feeling his face crumple up a little bit. Keith’s own face mimicked Lance’s, his concern clearly growing.

“...I’m sorry, I know you don’t like conflict. I just...I couldn’t let them say that stuff.” Keith waited for a response, but it never came. “...I mean it, I’m sorry.” he mumbled, gulping quietly as he wrapped his arms around Lance. They were alone now, there was nothing to fear, but Lance still trembled.

“Why can’t we just go on a date together without everyone looking at us?” Lance croaked, “I just want a normal date.”

“I know.” Keith mumbled, running his hands up and down Lance’s back, “I know, I do too.” Lance thought back to all the times this had happened. Over the course of their twenty or so dates, none of them were free of some sort of people like the ones at the ice rink. They would be stared at, and like today, they were often shouted at for simply going on a date. It wasn’t fair. All he wanted was a day with Keith, but how could he have that if he couldn’t even step outside without being called a range of awful names.

Lance sniffled into Keith’s shoulder, holding him tightly. He really didn’t want to cry and ruin yet another date, but it was hard not to. Keith held Lance a little bit closer, obviously worried.

“Please don’t cry.” Keith begged, “It’s okay Lance, they’re gone now, they won’t hurt you-”

“Everything is ruined.” Lance blubbered, “And it’s all because I’m too sensitive-”

“Lance, love...anyone would be hurt by what they were doing.”

“Then why aren’t you crying?” Lance sniffled.

Keith hesitated for a second, “...Who’s to say I don’t feel like it?” a momentary silence passed between them, Keith holding Lance close. But for a moment he relaxed, moving his hands to cup Lance’s cheeks carefully.

“People can say anything they like, but that doesn’t change anything. Don’t listen to them, they aren’t worth our time.” Keith whispered, “ _ You’re  _ worth my time, not them. I’d rather spend as much of the day as I can with you. If you still want to go home, that’s okay, but I’ll be with you, I’m not leaving you alone on our date night.”

Keith ran his hands tenderly across Lance’s cheeks, wiping away the tears that would’ve fallen had Lance not felt comfort. He relaxed, closing his eyes and breathing deeply for a couple moments, doing his best to calm down. Keith smiled softly, brushing his thumb across Lance’s lip.

“I love you Lance.” he said softly, pulling Lance gently again his lips.

It was warm and comforting, Keith moving smoothly along. It was a treat to be kissed by Keith, especially on the lips. He was still getting used to the whole physical affection thing, so Lance relished it, taking in every moment.

But despite the fact that Lance loved it, he was still crying a little bit. He sniffled against Keith’s lips, his nose dripping and his eyes watery. Keith reached up occasionally to wipe off his face, kissing him softer and more gently than before.

“It’s okay.” he said softly, “It’s okay, nothing is ruined.” he played with Lance’s hair, gently burying his fingers into it in a soothing way, pressing more and more kisses to his lips and cheeks.

Lance sniffled a couple more times, managing to get ahold of himself. He breathed deeply as Keith pressed a couple more kisses against his face. Everything would be okay. The problem was gone, he and Keith were still here...he had nothing to be afraid of.

“Feel better?” Keith asked, his voice so tender and soft it made Lance’s heart melt.

“Mhm.” Lance confirmed, nodding his head quietly. Keith leaned in one final time, gently pressing his lips against Lance’s. He was so gentle it was almost as if his lips weren’t even there. Lance’s knees went a little weak, forcing him to lean on Keith who giggled, aware of what he’d done.

The hugged for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the embrace before Lance finally pulled away.

“...Can we skate a little more?” Lance requested, reaching up his hand to wipe his eyes.

“Of course.” Keith said sweetly, taking Lance’s free hand. He intertwined their fingers, kissing Lance on the cheek. “Anything as long as I’m with you.” Lance felt a little bubble of happiness, all of the anxiety and worry fading away as Keith began to skate forwards. Lance did the same, managing to stay balanced as he went on forwards. 

Maybe they wouldn’t go home tonight, because Lance wanted to stay like this forever.

 


End file.
